Sweat drips down the faces of players, the intoxicating aroma of the rubber beneath their feet, squeaking and squealing against the polished wood floor of the Horton Field House basketball court. Excitement fills the air as the Redbirds pull out another win and the bleachers slowly empty into the parking lots—and there’s Tom Lamonica on the sidelines cheering until the very last minute.
Always there, always supporting the Redbirds, Tom Lamonica served as the Sports Information Director (SID) prior to his “retirement job” in the School of Communication.
Originally, Lamonica assumed he would work in sports for the rest of his professional career. He expected to graduate from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and become a sports journalist for the rest of his days.
As a senior, Lamonica turned down three separate opportunities to attend graduate school with a teaching assistantship. “Nope, I’m done with college.” Lamonica said. “I’m never going back.”
Little did he know there would be a shortage of graduate teaching instructors in the Mizzou journalism department, and they needed qualified undergraduates to fill their places. So, his first teaching job came much sooner than expected. He was offered a paid teaching assistantship to teach Reporting I, and he couldn’t turn it down.
“You see, I had just bought an engagement ring for my fiancé that I couldn’t exactly afford at the time,” Lamonica said. “I figured it would be a bad impression if I had to tell my now wife that I couldn’t make the payments on the ring, so I took the position.”
Just a few weeks into the semester, his supervising professor unexpectedly left for emergency surgery, leaving Lamonica to lead the class for six weeks. This gave him the opportunity to test the waters with teaching in higher education, and things clicked.
“Life sneaks up on you and tricks you into doing the best thing for yourself,” Lamonica said.
After a few shorter-lived opportunities at other universities, Lamonica arrived at Illinois State University in 1979 ready to start a career in Redbird Athletics.
Hours turned into days and long nights turned into long weekends, consistently keeping Lamonica away from home and his family as he traveled with the ISU volleyball and basketball teams. Slowly but surely, Lamonica began to accept that working in sports, while exciting, is extremely demanding. So, when a friend from the University told him he could retire in October of 2005, after nearly 30 years in the business, Lamonica listened.
In the spring of 2006, the University underwent a hiring freeze. With several public relations professors leaving the department, Lamonica stepped in. “I always thought if I got fired from Athletics, I could teach,” Lamonica said.
While he wasn’t fired from Athletics, he took the open opportunity to join the teaching staff in a full-time capacity—just the sign he needed to take the leap into teaching once again.
“All of my teaching jobs have been out of someone else’s desperation,” Lamonica said.
There have been a lot of great memories for Lamonica in his time with ISU, but one recent memory stands out among many others. The University president at the time of Lamonica’s hiring was Lloyd Watkins. The two had grown to develop a fond friendship over the years even after Watkins stepped down from the presidency and became a professor. In early 2023, Lamonica received an internship request form with the last name “Watkins” on the front page. After further investigation, Lamonica discovered the form came from Lloyd Watkin’s grandson who now attended the University.
“This place means things to people,” Lamonica said. “He could have gone to any university, but he chose Illinois State.”
It is no secret that Tom Lamonica cares about Illinois State University and its students. From overseeing the internship program to individually mentoring students, Lamonica shows his appreciation to the University by giving his time to the people who need it most.
